Advanced Search Request a Book

ORDERS

Readings Orders 0

DEMANDS

Readings Demands 0

How Religion Evolved: and Why It Endures
[Hardback - 2022]
robin dunbar
On Demand
Availability in 2-4 weeks on receipt of order
List Price: £22
Our Price: Rs.3445 Rs.2928
Standard Discount: 15%
You Save: Rs.517
Category: Religion
Sub-category: General Religion
Additional Category: General History
Publisher: Pelican Uk | ISBN: 9780241431788 | Pages: 352
Shipping Weight: | Dimensions:

Description

When did humans develop spiritual thought? What is religion s evolutionary purpose? And in our increasingly secular world, why has it endured?

Every society in the history of humanity has lived with religion. In How Religion Evolved, evolutionary psychologist Professor Robin Dunbar tracks its origins back to what he terms the mystical stance - the aspect of human psychology that predisposes us to believe in a transcendent world, and which makes an encounter with the spiritual possible. As he explores world religions and their many derivatives, as well as religions of experience practised by hunter-gatherer societies since time immemorial, Dunbar argues that this instinct is not a peculiar human quirk, an aberration on our otherwise efficient evolutionary journey. Rather, religion confers an advantage: it can benefit our individual health and wellbeing, but, more importantly, it fosters social bonding at large scale, helping hold fractious societies together. Dunbar suggests these dimensions might provide the basis for an overarching theory for why and how humans are religious, and so help unify the myriad strands that currently populate this field.

Drawing on path-breaking research, clinical case studies and fieldwork from around the globe, as well as stories of charismatic cult leaders, mysterious sects and lost faiths, How Religion Evolved offers a fascinating and far-reaching analysis of this quintessentially human impulse - to believe.

About the Author

Robin Dunbar is Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at the University of Oxford. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and of the Royal Anthropological Institute, and an elected Foreign Member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters. He has been awarded the Osman Hill Medal and the Huxley Medal. His popular science books include The Human Story, How Many Friends Does One Person Need? and Human Evolution, and have been translated into a dozen languages.

Also by the Same Author

View All
The Trouble With Science
[Paperback - 1996]
robin dunbar
In Stock
List Price: £7.99
Our Price: Rs.975 Rs.877
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.98
Friends: Understanding The Power Of Our Most Important Relationships
[Paperback - 2022]
robin dunbar
Out of Stock
Availability in 2-4 weeks on receipt of order
List Price: £12.99
Our Price: Rs.2095 Rs.1885
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.210
How Religion Evolved: And Why It Endures (Pelican Books)
[Paperback - 2023]
robin dunbar
In Stock
List Price: £10.99
Our Price: Rs.2345 Rs.2110
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.235
Human Evolution: A Pelican Introduction
[Paperback - 2014]
robin dunbar
On Demand
Availability in 2-4 weeks on receipt of order
List Price: £10.99
Our Price: Rs.2195 Rs.1866
Standard Discount: 15%
You Save: Rs.329
Evolutionary Psychology: A Beginner's Guides
[Paperback - 2017]
robin dunbar
On Demand
Availability in 2-4 weeks on receipt of order
List Price: £9.99
Our Price: Rs.1845 Rs.1568
Standard Discount: 15%
You Save: Rs.277

Bestsellers in Religion

View All
Misquoting Muhammad: The Challenge And Choices Of Interpreting The Prophet's Legacy
[Paperback - 2015]
jonathan a.c. brown
In Stock
List Price: £10.99
Our Price: Rs.2945 Rs.2650
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.295
The Tibetan Book Of The Dead (Translation)
[Paperback - 2005]
graham coleman
In Stock
List Price: £12.99
Our Price: Rs.2345 Rs.2110
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.235
A Confession And Other Religious Writings
[Paperback - 1987]
leo tolstoy
Out of Stock
Availability in 2-4 weeks on receipt of order
List Price: £10.99
Our Price: Rs.1895 Rs.1705
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.190
If The Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship And A Journey To The Heart Of The Quran
[Paperback - 2015]
carla power
Out of Stock
Availability in 4-6 weeks on receipt of order
List Price: $23
Our Price: Rs.3845 Rs.3460
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.385
Let Us Be Muslims
[Paperback - 2022]
sayyid abul a'la mawdudi
In Stock
List Price: Rs.800
Our Price: Rs.800 Rs.720
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.80
40 On Justice: The Prophetic Voice On Social Reform (Pakistan Edition)
[Hardback - 2022]
omar suleiman
In Stock
List Price: Rs.1800
Our Price: Rs.1800 Rs.1620
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.180
Islam: Religion, History, And Civilization
[Paperback - 2003]
seyyed hossein nasir
In Stock
List Price: $14.99
Our Price: Rs.2545 Rs.2290
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.255
A Treasury Of Ibn Taymiyah
[Paperback - 2021]
mustapha sheikh
In Stock
List Price: Rs.500
Our Price: Rs.500 Rs.450
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.50
Ramadan Reflections: 30 Days Of Healing From The Past, Journeying With Presence And Looking Ahead To An Akhirah-Focused Future
[Paperback - 2023]
aliyah umm raiyaan
In Stock
List Price: £12.99
Our Price: Rs.2945 Rs.2650
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.295